Savage Revenge (3 page)

Leaf had always known who she was—their paths had crossed at more than just his concerts—but until tonight his interest in her romantically had been lukewarm at best.

“I don’t believe we’ve met.”

She blinked at his words, and then realized he wasn’t talking to her.

Crap. Stan. She’d forgotten all about him the minute Leaf had pulled up a chair.

“No. We haven’t.” Stan’s words were flat and held very little emotion. “I’m Stan. A friend of Sage’s just passing through town.”

A friend? Really? Well now that was certainly stretching it, but the moment she saw the flash of jealousy in Leaf’s eyes, she ran with it.

“College friend. He’ll be gone again soon, won’t you?”

She felt more than heard the rumbling in his chest as he laughed softly.

“Tonight, as a matter of fact.”

She cast him a hard glance from beneath her lashes. “I’ll be sorry to see you go.”

“Will you?” Amusement flashed in his green eyes as they held hers.

Not even a little bit. Arrogant asshole. What the hell did he want with her?

Leaf cleared his throat. “Sunflower, let me buy you a glass of wine?”

“She prefers seltzer water.”

Oh no way. Did he really just try and answer for her?

“Thank you, Leaf. I’d love a glass of red.”

The flicker of triumph in Leaf’s gaze before he left had her resisting the urge to roll her eyes. What was it about men and a little competition? Not that she was complaining, because it was somewhat of a novelty for her.

“So it’s not that you don’t drink, it just has to be the right guy offering?”

Stiffening at Stan’s soft words, she again looked up at him.

“Does it really matter? What is it you want from me, Stan? I’m still not all sure why you’ve come to sit with me in the first place.”

“You’re pretty.”

She didn’t hide her small snort of dismay. “Not pretty enough to be your type.”

His smile hardened not just on his mouth, but his eyes. “You have no idea what my type is,
little sunflower
.”

Anger rushed through her blood, and she clenched her fingers around the glass of seltzer water. He was mocking Leaf’s endearment. She’d never thought it a source of humor before, but the way he mimicked it made her realize it did sound a little silly.

“I honestly don’t give a rat’s ass what your type is,
Stan
. Trust me, I’m not it.”

Damn, she sounded like a whiny little girl. Why was she letting him get under her skin so easily? Even as the question lingered in her head, she knew it was because of his shifter blood. The territorial attitude some male shifters could show toward their female counterparts.

She wasn’t stupid. She knew any shifter with a penis got a little put out at the idea of their females flirting with humans. Tough. She wasn’t in this man’s pack and definitely not his responsibility.

“Maybe I’m not your cup of tea, but you should at least be seeking out your own kind, Sage.”

His deceptively soft words of warning had her mind screaming
BINGO
. She’d nailed it with the dating outside their species bit.

This man was so much like her brother it made her want to scream and dump her drink over his head.

“You really should run home to your own pack, Stan. You have no authority over me, and frankly, I’m not about to give much credence to your opinion anyway.”

Something flashed in his eyes. Something dark and urgent that made her realize his words might’ve been on her taste in men, but his mind had shifted somewhere else.

The hairs on the back of her neck lifted, and again instinct warned her this man wasn’t as innocuous as he tried to portray himself to be. He hadn’t randomly stumbled in here and decided to flirt with her.

“A glass of red.” Leaf returned, a cheerful smile on his face as he set the glass in front of her.

“Thank you.” Grateful for the distraction, she picked up the glass and took a sip.

Sitting down across from her—again backward in the chair, he murmured, “How did you like my set of songs tonight?”

“Your songs? Oh, they’re wonderful. They always are. You’re so talented, Leaf.” Was she gushing? She kind of felt like she was gushing.

“Thank you.” Leaf gave a solemn nod. “It’s my blessing, and my curse.”

“Really?”

Stan’s flat drawl had her shooting him a warning look. Okay, he could leave now. Anytime.

But Leaf was oblivious to Stan’s lightly veiled sarcasm and sighed.

“Yes. God has gifted me with the voice of an angel, and I’m compelled to travel and share that gift.” Taking a sip of his own drink, Leaf shrugged. “Unfortunately, the monetary reimbursements are not always adequate. But who am I to deny the people my talents.”

“That’s it.” Stan’s chair scraped sharply on the wooden floor. “I’m going to take a piss.”

Oh jeez,
really
? Sage closed her eyes briefly. She opened them again just in time to see disgust flash across Leaf’s face.

“He’s rather coarse, isn’t he?”

She chose her words carefully. “Just a little rough around the edges.”

“And you know him from school?”

“Yes.” At his skeptical look, she quickly changed the subject. “I love to watch you sing, Leaf. You’re so inspiring. I actually write better after I’ve seen you perform.”

Okay, that was a bit of a lie, but padding his ego wasn’t all together awful, was it?

The look of distaste became one of preening. “I do have the tendency to inspire.”

Sage had to push aside the irritation that, just as every other time she’d seen him, he didn’t even acknowledge her writing.

Maybe he was intimidated by the fact she was successful at her career and probably made three times as much as him.

Not that he wasn’t successful, just on a different level. A smaller audience.

Her writing gave her a bit of anonymity and she didn’t tell all that many people who she was or what she did for a living. Sometimes their demeanor toward her would change. Often they’d make silly little comments about
smutty books
and she just didn’t want to deal.

But she’d told Leaf a few months ago, and he’d seemed unfazed. Maybe a little curious and he’d asked a few tawdry questions that she’d wished he hadn’t, but that kind of came with the territory.

She watched him pull out a small bag filled with what looked like tobacco and paper.

“I’m going to have a smoke outside. Care to join me, sunflower?”

“Oh. I don’t smoke.”

“I know you don’t.” He finished rolling his own cigarette and touched the top of her hand and met her gaze. “But I’d love your company.”

Oh
. If she went outside, she suspected he’d be doing more than smoking.

What about Stan
?

She blinked. Where had that come from? Stan?
Stan?
She didn’t even have any idea who Stan even was or what he wanted with her. What she did know was that this was her opportunity, and like hell was she going to blow it.

“Sure. I’ll join you.”

Chapter Three

Where the fuck had they gone?

Nathan stood in the middle of the bar and slid a glance around the interior.

But again the realization hit that Sage and Leaf were nowhere in sight.

He’d only been gone five minutes. Another glance at the table showed that her glass of wine was still there, and only half drunk.

But her sweater that had been hanging over the back of a chair was gone.

They’d gone outside.
Shit
.

He was out the door with more speed than he should’ve used, but his wolf was just beneath the surface and on the hunt.

Sage couldn’t leave here without him tonight. No way, no how. He needed her. Her shelter and her silence. Because once she saw his picture circulating—and it wouldn’t be long—she’d be singing like her lover boy.

A quick search of the perimeter turned up the pair at the end of the parking lot, just behind a series of large boulders.

Though the smell of cigarette smoke had helped lead him to them just as quickly.

He paused, taking a moment to observe the scene before him. He was far enough away that if he were human he wouldn’t have been able to see much. But his shifter senses gave him sharper vision—even with the darkness falling.

Leaf had Sage maneuvered against a boulder—his mouth was on hers and one of his hands hovered just above her breast.

As he watched, the man copped a feel, and Nathan would have to have been blind to miss the sudden tension in her body.

Hot, dark rage slammed through Nathan—shocking in its intensity—and the wolf inside him rose sharply to the surface. His canines slid down and a growl of fury built low in his throat.

Sage stiffened further, before shoving at Leaf and pushing him away from her. Her gaze lifted to Nathan’s and he saw that flash of fury in them.

“Sunflower?” Leaf reached for her again, but she shook her head.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw Nathan, and his mouth tightened with annoyance.

“Can you give us a moment, Leaf?” Her voice was steady. Her gaze never leaving Nathan.

“I suppose I’ll have to.” Sulking, Leaf made his way back into the bar.

“You have no right to intrude on me out here.” Her shaky words slammed into him the moment they were alone.

Nathan closed the distance between them, struggling hard to control his temper. To keep his words light.

“It looks like you might’ve appreciated my intrusion. Make-out session with Pinecone not as good as you’d hoped?”

“Leaf. His name is Leaf, and just stop it.” She shook her head and raised a hand in warning. “It’s not your business. Look, I want you to go now.”

“You were begging me to stay about a half hour ago.”

Even in the darkness Nathan could see the blush fill her cheeks.

“That’s because you served a purpose a half hour ago.”

“Made your boyfriend jealous, did I?”

He waited for her to deny the musician was her boyfriend, because all appearances showed that any relationship they had was new. Her mouth closed and she just lifted one bare, curvy shoulder instead in a casual shrug.

“I see.” His irritation grew. Whether with himself or her, he wasn’t sure.

“I don’t trust you.”

Well at least she had a little bit of sense.

What the hell was he doing? His motivation had been to slip into this little dive bar, gain some human chick’s trust, and wind up safely hidden in her house for a few days.

And yet he’d somehow picked a female shifter, and now here he was wasting energy and anger on some random human Sage was choosing to get involved with. Why did it matter? He didn’t know her. He didn’t have time to know her. She was pretty damn low on his scale of importance, actually. In a few days he’d be long gone and she’d be a memory he’d be trying his best to forget.

But gaining Sage’s trust, and having her take him home willingly, was looking less likely by the minute. Which meant he’d have to against everything he believed in—against his nature. He would have to take her cooperation by force.

Manipulating his expression, again, into an unreadable mask, he slipped back into agent mode. He was commander of his unit, alpha of their pack—and Sage, to her misfortune, was about to take the brunt of his experience.

“Fine.” He gave a brief nod. “I’ll leave you alone.”

She didn’t look away from him, and her gaze flickered with distrust. She didn’t believe him. “I’d appreciate that.”

Her guard was up, and it would likely stay up. He needed to fix this and quick.

“Look, I’m sorry. You’re right, Sage. I was passing through town and you took me by surprise. I make it a point to make introductions when I find someone like myself.”

“Really.” Skepticism now. “All right. Whatever you say.”

Fuck it, he was tempted to throw her over his shoulder and get out of here. Which would get him nowhere. Literally.

He took a step away from her. “I’m leaving now, but be careful out there.”

“Why, is the big bad wolf going to attack?” She arched a brow. “Though I’m not so sure he’s not standing right in front of me.”

“He just might be.” He couldn’t stop the icy smile of warning, and hoped his light words weren’t tipping his hand.

She stared at him a moment longer, before darting around him more rabbit-like than the wolf that lingered inside her.

The quick notes of a blues song filled the air as the door to the pub opened to let Sage back inside. It muted once again a second later.

Time to move on to Plan B. Hurry up and wait.

By the time Sage slipped from the bar a couple hours later, the temperature had dropped at least ten degrees and she shivered.

The heat was great during the day, but at night the hills around here could be almost chilly.

Nathan watched as she hurried to her car, keys clenched in her hands.

“Sage?”

She turned with a soft gasp, but her tension visibly eased when she spotted Leaf.

“You didn’t say good-bye.” Leaf’s footsteps crunched across the parking lot as he approached.

“Oh, you seemed busy cleaning up your gear and talking to the manager.” She gave a light laugh and looked away. “I figured I’d catch up with you another time.”

“Hmm. Well
I
thought maybe we could go back to your place for a drink?” He stopped in front of her and reached out to touch her cheek. “Continue what we started earlier?”

Her mouth opened and closed, as if she was trying to decide how to answer.

Say no, Curls
.

If she brought that slimeball hippie home, it would just make things all that much more difficult. Plus, Nathan wasn’t sure he wouldn’t end up cutting out the guy’s tongue just for fun.

She finally cleared her throat. “Actually, I’m a little tired.”

“So you can make us some coffee instead.” Leaf grimaced. “Though that stuff is terrible on your stomach.”

“I really can’t. I’m also on deadline. I have a book due in a few weeks. I really should be writing.”

Interesting. Sage was a writer. Nathan tucked away that little bit of info.